POTTSVILLE — There is an old boxing ring alongside Highway 64 in Pottsville, almost to Atkins. It sits in the grass beside a tired yellow house that makes no secret of the many long years it has seen.

“It’s held together with love,” house owner and Dream Team Boxing head coach David “The Diamond Dream” Beck said.

If you aren’t looking, you might miss it. But for many aspiring pugilists in the Arkansas River Valley, it’s a place to cut your teeth. More than that, it’s a place to learn lessons about both boxing and life.

A handful of kids may be seen pounding away at the three punching bags scattered across the yard, or in the ring, protective gear on, sparring against each other for the much-needed experience.

“You don’t see a $100,000 gym when you come here,” Beck said. “You see a yard that’s open to everyone. We work with troubled youth, we work with boxers with special needs, we work with anyone. And we do it free of charge.”

But Dream Team Boxing is not entirely without cost. The Dream Team Boxing van, which Beck uses to haul fighters to bouts all over the Mid-South, requires fuel. Beck pays for food for the kids, boxing equipment and USA Boxing fees with donations and out of pocket.

It’s about more than boxing for Beck.

“To call us a boxing club is a slap in the face to everything we’ve ever done,” he said. “We’re not a club, we’re a family. We don’t just hit a bag and go home. My kids (students) are the most precious thing to me. Any kid who is hurt and in trouble and just needs someone to sit and listen can knock on my door.

“When we come here, we hug. When we leave, we hug. When we spar, we hug. No one is to be mad at anyone. If one of us wins, we all win. If one of us loses, we all lose.”

Clayton and Dylan Gordon, brothers from Ola who enrolled in the program after facing a bully, learned this lesson more than most.

“The change was like night and day,” Cynthia Gordon, the pair’s mother said. “The bullying ended, and they never had to use what coach Dream taught them. It was in their confidence levels.”

Clayton and Dylan’s bully, Jose Cano, would later join Dream Team — it gave Beck a chance to show them the power of the life lessons he was trying to teach.

“At first they wanted to quit,” Beck said. “They were like, this guy is mean and bad and you’re going to make him meaner and badder, but I told them to just give me two weeks with him.”

Cynthia said it best: “Now they are like family. That’s how big of a difference Beck has made.”

As it turns out, Cano was also the victim of bullies.

“He thought that was just how you did things,” Beck said. “But I teach them how to be winners inside the ring and out. Actually, if you’re a winner outside the ring, then what more can I do as a coach? Boxing handled by the right person can be the greatest tool a young man or woman ever had. In the wrong hands, it can be corrupt, but kids are innocent.”

Beck, a former Toughman competitor and former U.S. Army team boxer, has had boxers compete at the amateur level, semi-professional level and professional level. Beck encouraged anyone to come out — experienced or not.

“If anyone wants to come out, practices are at 4:15 p.m. and they last until the last kid leaves,” he said. “We’re going to get one-on-one with everybody. We’re not going to miss [anybody]. Everybody gets a chance.”

Those looking to donate to Dream Team Boxing can contact Beck at (479) 393-1998 or by e-mail at diamonddream1995@gmail.com